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The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) recently named Alaska Railroad Corp. (ARRC) heavy equipment operator Dwight West the 2006 Safety Person of the Year.

During the past eight years, West has operated heavy equipment without suffering an injury or causing an accident. And as a safety coordinator, training manager and rules project leader the past three years, he has “made a name for himself,” ASLRRA officials said in the association’s April safety bulletin.

West spearheaded an overhaul of ARRC’s safety rulebook, a project that took about 18 months to complete and reduced rules and recommended practices by 40 percent. The new rulebook now features quick reference tools and a glossary. He also developed a “Safe Zone” concept based on his machine operator experience — stressing an operator must always know what’s going on within their zone of influence and operation — and traveled throughout the railroad’s system to promote the idea.

In addition, West served as chairman of ARRC’s central safety committee, helping the railroad register its seventh-straight year of safety improvements, and post annual records for injury frequency and severity, train accidents and derailments, and lost time for the second consecutive year.